This morning in Dublin, Ireland, thousands took to the city streets for the 2023 Irish Life Dublin Marathon, also coined the “Friendly Marathon.” Despite some rain making the weather conditions less than ideal, it did not take away from the excitement of the race.
In one of the most anticipated races on Irish soil, it was a dream day for the Ethiopian runners as they prevailed among their competitors to take the win in both the men’s and women’s race.
In an incredible display of endurance, Ethiopia’s Kemal Husen would dominate the men’s field. Clocking a time of 2:06:52, he crossed the line almost four minutes ahead of his competitors and took down the previous course record.
The previous record was 2:08:06, which was set at the 2019 edition by Othmane El Goumri of Morocco.
Husen is the only runner to have run under the Olympic Automatic Qualifying Time (2:06:10), something he had yet to do, according to the World Athletics Road to Paris List.
Geofrey Kusuro of Uganda took second place behind El Goumri in a time of 2:10:45.
Rounding out the podium on his home course was Ireland’s Stephen Scullion in a time of 2:11:51. As the race also served as the Irish National Marathon Championships, Scullion would also take home the title.
Scullion competed at the Tokyo Olympics but it wasn’t the race of his dreams after dropping out of the race. He has his eyes set on making a return at the Paris 2024 Olympics. His results here have pushed him a step closer to realizing his goal.
After going through what he described to BBC as a “rough period,” he was happy with his race today and said to BBC, “I needed to believe in myself again.”
The defending champion from the 2022 Dublin Marathon, Taoufik Allam of Morroco, was also on the start line. However, as a result of what seems to be a hamstring injury, he did not complete the race and was unable to defend his title.
In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Sorome Negash would take a convincing win with a personal best time of 2:26:22. She was the only woman to run under the women’s Olympic Automatic Qualifying Time (2:26:50).
Following Negash was Joan Kipyatich of Kenya who recorded a time of 2:27:04. Negash’s compatriot, Genet Habela Abdurkadir would complete the podium in 2:27:49.
The women’s Irish National Marathon Champion was fifth-placed Ann-Marie McGlynn. She would take the title after completing the course in 2:34:13.
